Reflections of a Rocket
by Quill Xarxes
Summary: James Morgan, retired member of Team Rocket, tells his story of love and betrayal.


Reflections of a Rocket  
Quill Xarxes  
  
  
  
It is a beautiful evening, the sun sets in hot orange on the horizon. The Pidgeys sing their last songs of the day, and the stars are starting to poke out of the blackening sky. It would be the perfect evening to be out laying in my sleeping bag, just watching everything happen over the beautiful crystal lake. Which is exactly where I am right now.  
  
My name is James Morgan. I'm a Pokémon trainer with a bad rap for being bad. Of course, this has to do with the fact that I'm a retired Pokémon theif. I know I gave that up a long time ago, but nobody else seems to.  
  
I've tried looking for work, but nobody will hire me. I'm just too well known for the wrong reasons. I lost my court case, but because my past is so filled with abuse I wasn't jailed, but put in a mental hospital for a couple months. My parents only wanted me so the family line would continue, they didn't even bother with me as a person!   
  
Then there was my partner in crime, Jessie Rochester. She was a striking woman, with fiery red hair in a mass behind her. She was one of the only people who really cared for me, at least as much as I thought. We weren't very good at being bad, and we were pretty bad at being good. But we were the best friends. I only wish I hadn't suggested a romantic relationship with her, or we might still be friends today.  
  
"Jessie?" that's how most of my days started. Just ask Jess a random question so I could hear her sweet morning voice, which would inevitably turn into a mean Jess voice by midday. But this time, I couldn't say anything. I just kissed her.  
  
After that, we were no longer friends. We were lovers. That year, we got married and had a beautiful daughter named Rose. I only wish I could see her now. She's probably already taken her first steps, said her first words even. Maybe something like 'cookie,' or 'bottle,' or 'mommy.' But one word I'm sure she'll not have said, 'daddy.'  
  
It's not like I wanted it this way. I was completely satisfied with my life the way it was. But Jessie, she changed. She got so… strict. I wasn't allowed to do anything! I know what you're thinking, probably, as you're reading this, "You're the one who had a daughter, you should be taking care of it, not going to some party or cruising." But that wasn't my plan. I was out trying to make money to support our little family, and she'd monitor every job I had, from fast food delivery to janitor, once I even pulled off being a pretty high-payed security guard! But she wouldn't have it. My life was a fricking hell.  
  
It wasn't the fact that I wanted to work, it was the fact that she was worried about what people would find out about us. I mean, think about it, we're retired Team Rocket members! We had our pictures on wanted posters! We were chased by police! Now that we had a daughter, Jessie just didn't want our reputation to get us thrown in jail or worse!  
  
Then the arguments came. And came. Jessie would yell at me for keeping such a high profile, I would get pissed and yell back. But that was tame compared to what was about to come next.  
  
"Why do you have to make such a big deal out of money?" Jessie yelled at me in a furious rage.  
  
I, on the other hand, had no clue why she was so upset, "Jessie, we need money or we won't be able to live. We're already late for rent, and reduced to eating peanut butter and jelly." And that was true. We were drained!  
  
"You know about our past! They'll find out everything!" Jessie yelled back at me.  
  
I was furious! I didn't know what to do, so I brought Rose into the picture. I grabbed Jessie by the arm and pulled her into Rose's room, where she was sleeping in her crib, "Look at her, Jessie. How would you like it if one day you woke up one day and she was dead?" I then ran out to think. When I got back, Jessie and Rose were gone.  
  
I found out later that Jessie had taken the remark as a threat. She actually thought I was going to kill Rose! Rose is my daughter, I would never even think of hurting her! But because of Jessie's status in the relationship, I lost. We got divorced, and I'm not even allowed near my daughter anymore. I have one picture of her, in my wallet, when she was just born. I love her to death, I can't believe this whole thing happened, but it did.  
  
I was put in put in Oaktown House, a center for mentally insane. It was the most awful place I've ever been to. I wish I was put in jail, rather than go there. You couldn't be trusted, you were a lunatic. I couldn't even go to the fricking bathroom without people making sure I wasn't crapping out weapons or something! I didn't belong there. I was released with good behavior two months later.  
  
So here I am now. I've finally decided to start a new life as a Pokémon trainer, but it won't be easy. My past, you know. I have a restraining order against my parents and Jessibelle, they can't come within 50 yards of me. I'm not getting remarried anytime soon.  
  
The sky is now fully black now. I pull out my sleeping bag and get inside. It's my new life. Pokémon trainers don't have to pay taxes, and I make money battling trainers. Still I wonder how Rose is doing. Will Jessie lie and say I ran away with some blonde chick after a gambling rage? Or will she tell the truth, that I'm a man trying to make an honest living, betrayed by any and all who loved him, trusting only himself and the few Pokémon in his backpack? I may never know.  



End file.
